Dubai: Some of the best-selling books in the world have been translated into many languages, and while we know who the authors of these books are, we rarely know the translators that made it possible for you to experience the book although it was not originally written in a language you understand. To shed more light on the challenges and nuances of translation, the Emirates Literature Foundation, in partnership with the Dubai Executive Council, will be hosting the first Dubai Translation Conference between October 20 and 22. Isobel Abulhoul, OBE, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, told Gulf News about why people should come to the conference.

“Translation has an impact on all of us. Whether it is through road signs, subtitles in films or books we read, legal contracts, medicines, diagnoses, or wherever you look,” she said. “Translation conferences have this persona of being academic, and slightly dull,” Abulhoul said, but as organisers, she said their aim is to change that. “Our ambition as organisers is to make it interesting, stimulating and fun; and you do not often hear these words at translation conferences, but we have done our best.”

The event celebrates the ideals of the National Reading Policy, launched in the United Arab Emirates in 2016, and is another step towards enriching the body of literature in Arabic Language, promoting the creative content of Arab writers to non-Arabic speakers and promoting a reading culture within the Arab world. Isobel said translation in literature is a key interest for her, “the ability for a translator to allow us into a different world via a different language, by doing a seamless job of capturing literature in translation.” “The translator is invisible to most of us, we know the authors, but we never really give any attention or thanks to the person who brings this literature to us in a different language,” she said.

To read more about this and future conferences please click the link:

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/culture/in-our-own-language-1.1912487

NEWS FROM THE E.U.
On November 18/19, 2016, the European Parliament’s TermCoord hosted the 45th meeting of the Council for German-Language Terminology (www.radt.org). The RaDT was created in 1994 on the initiative of the German, Austrian and Swiss UNESCO Commissions to promote terminology in German-speaking countries. It consists of a panel of experts who represent organizations, associations, administrative bodies, business and industry, and educational institutions in the field of terminology from Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, South Tyrol and Switzerland.

The RaDT’s meetings take place twice a year, on a rotation basis, in each of the represented countries. In fall 2016, it was Luxembourg’s turn, and the participants were happy to accept the invitation to hold the meeting at the European Parliament, which has been a member of the RaDT since 2013, when TermCoord was invited to join.

During this meeting, the members talked about the relations between terminology and artificial intelligence, finalized the latest brochure, and discussed about the terminologists’ profile, their recruitment and the means of enhancing awareness for terminology and terminologists.